Interview with Naoto Fuuga: Learning More About KAITO’s Voice Provider

A while ago, I had the opportunity to interview an important head in the VOCALOID universe for one of our associated websites (Vocaloid Chile) but I haven’t read anything similar in English. Now that VNN is live, I think this is the perfect opportunity to show this interesting article to the world.

Naoto Fuuga is a very interesting person. The impression I got from our conversation is that he is a well-educated person with a vast knowledge of and interest in the world music.

In the interview, I not only tried to learn about the creation of the first KAITO voice bank and Naoto’s career as professional singer but also to discover information about his lifestyle and interests.

The interview was done in 2014 via email. Mr. Fuuga was interviewed in English, he replied to me in Japanese, and then I asked a friend (z411) to translate his replies to Spanish. Now, I’m re-translating this to English.

Interviewer: How do you feel about being interviewed from a distant country such as Chile?

Naoto Fuuga: It makes me very happy! I wish I knewmoreEnglish.

I: What do you know about Chile? Do you want to visit Chile?

N.F: What I know about Chile and the mental image I have of it includes:

It’s far from Japan

Long and narrow

It has several European immigrants

It has a lot of earthquakes

Near the South Pole

They do not have diplomaticrelations withBolivia.

Chilean wine

Patagonia

Easter Island

NobelPrize in Literature for the writer Pablo Neruda (I saw him in a movie named “Il Postino”!)

I like a lot of Andrés de León’s work, especially the song “Si me amaras” ( cover of Leo Sayer’s song “When I need you”). I also know a little of La Ley, I like the song “Más Allá”.

I: How is it where you live?

N.F: You meanhowis the placewhere I live?I liveinan apartment in afairly quietresidentialarea in Tokyo.I like living herebecause it is convenient.

I: Tell us about your career! How long have you been a professional singer and voice actor?

Mr. Naoto Fuuga performing live.

N.F: I’ve sung as a professional singer since I was in my second year of my university career (I was 19 years old), so it would be 32-33 years.

I: What do you think about singers in Japan?

N.F: Although Japan is going through a recession, I think the music industry is quite rich compared with other countries. There are many local events that make it easy for people to find places to perform live. I think the Japanese singers and composers are good at expressing themselves. In Japan there are various musical genres and artists so every day you find something new. However, it is possible that singers from other countries have better abilities than those from here.

I: KAITO was one of the first VOCALOID. What did you think when CRYPTON Future Media contacted you to make a VOCALOID?

N.F: At first, Crypton Future Media did not contactme but YAMAHA. Also, when we recorded, there were only YAMAHApeople. SoI never knew of Cryptonuntil the dayKAITOstarted selling.

Before then, I had recorded voices for vocoderssynthesizersusingYAMAHAdevices so at first, I thoughtit would be forsomething similar; It wasnotvery clear to me.

I: How long did it take to record your voice for VOCALOID 1?

N.F: It wasquite a whileago so I do not remembervery well butI think in thecourse of a yearwe recordedabout 3or 4 times.

Box art of VOCALOID 1’s KAITO.

I: Are you happy with the results? What do you think about KAITO?

N.F: Very happy.Thefirst time I heardsongs madewithVOCALOIDinNicovideoI didn’t like them. But lately I’ve started to like them. I startedliking KAITOa yearago.(Before thatit did not interest memuch. ^^)

I: KAITO is well known by fans because he likes ice cream! What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?

The fandom jokes about KAITO loving ice cream so his figma and Nendoroid included one. (c) Good Smile Company

N.F: Rum Raisin and Soda.

I:What do you think about VOCALOID’s future? Do you think VOCALOID will be a threat for real singers?

N.F: VOCALOID’s future? ^^^(haha) Hard question!

I think in the near future it could be easily used in real robots.

Now, a threat for real singers? As a studio singer, I think it could be (have decreasedjobs where temporary singershave been replacedwith VOCALOID). But there are many people who like real voices and these people will continue to exist so I don’t think it will be a threat for real singers.

I: Do you enjoy anime? If you do, which one was the last you saw?

N.F: I don’t watch much anime but lately I’ve liked Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan). It’s been a long time since I‘ve been excited aboutwatchinganime again.

And eventhoughI do not watchanimations, I like somecharacters(i.e Moomin).